Bush facing veto fight on children’s health bill

Sunday

Sep 30, 2007 at 1:08 AM

The first veto fight of President Bush’s seven-year tenure is set to begin after the Senate’s passage of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program late Thursday, 67-29.

The president has vowed to veto the legislation, which would expand a program that offers coverage for children whose parents earn too much to qualify for Medicaid but cannot afford private health coverage

Mr. Bush has vetoed only two other bills previously, one on stem cell research and one that would have required the withdrawal of some troops from Iraq. In each of those cases, he had the support of most Republican members of Congress.

But the children’s insurance bill has broad support in both parties, and it is possible that each chamber could muster the two-thirds majority that would override the president’s veto.

The program, established in 1997, covered 6.9 million children last year. The new bill would reauthorize the program and increase funding by $35 billion with the intent of expanding coverage to 10 million children. The new spending would be funded by an increase in federal tobacco taxes.

President Bush argued that increasing coverage will leave the government paying for children who could be served by private insurers. The president favors a $5 billion expansion of the program.

Opponents of the president’s plan claim that, because of the rise in health care costs since the program began, renewing it with an additional $5 billion could reduce the number of children who would be covered.

The vote in the Senate Thursday night suggests the bill would overcome a veto easily in the upper chamber.

Both Massachusetts senators have been strong supporters of the bill.

“The president and every member of Congress enjoy guaranteed health care coverage. We owe the children of America no less,” said U.S. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., in a statement. “If the president vetoes this bill, then our duty is clear. We will be back tomorrow, and the next day, and for however long it takes to see this bipartisan bill become law.”

U.S. Sen. John F. Kerry, D-Mass, said in a statement Thursday that he hoped the House would be able to override a veto. “This health insurance program is a critical part of the safety net,” he said.

The bill passed in the House Tuesday with a vote of 265-159, 24 short of a veto-proof majority.

“We’re going to fight like hell to override the president’s veto,” U.S. Rep. James P. McGovern, D-Worcester, said. “I find it unconscionable that the president has decided to use his veto pen on a bill that will offer over 10 million children health insurance. It seems to me that no matter what your political ideology, your political party may be, that we could all come together on the issue of making sure that all of our kids get the health care that they need and deserve.”

The president has 10 days after receiving the legislation to make a decision on the bill. The program is set to expire today, but congressional leaders have agreed to fund the program temporarily until the fate of the bill is decided.